


Small Doses

by scoliatrash



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, idk what this is but here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 03:23:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13262586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scoliatrash/pseuds/scoliatrash
Summary: When Nina met Harry by chance, she wasn’t expecting much from him, her opinion limited to what she’d seen on stage that night but something draws the pair together and sends two down to earth people spiraling into an experience they’ll never forget."I can only take you in small doses, small dosesLoving you, it's explosive, you know this"





	Small Doses

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is a little slow but it'll pick up soon!

I hadn’t even planned to go to the concert. I thought I’d have an exam the next morning but I had the schedule wrong and so, I went. I went to the Harry Styles concert with Amelia and her annoying, pretty friends who didn’t like me much and they ditched me in the streets of New York City, lucky as hell I’d grown up across the bridge and knew my way around better than any of them. I looked like a proper idiot, as well, walking around by myself in a sweater dress and thigh high boots that were starting to chafe the backs of my knees. Eventually, I just found a bar and stopped for a drink.

Rum and coke always quelled my sweet tooth and I always drank more for taste than for the purpose of getting drunk. After texting Amelia something passive aggressive, I went outside for some fresh air. My coat had been left in Amelia’s car and was long gone while the city weather was dipping towards forty degrees but the cold was never an issue for me. I liked how it felt sharp in my lungs like a freezing drink. Still, I was shivering and considered asking the guy leaning on the wall beside me for a smoke if only to keep warm. He was bundled up, the hood of a sweater pulled over his head beneath a fancy looking winter coat that went below his knees. I guessed he was an upper east sider if I ever saw one. Eventually, I gave in and asked for the cigarette. 

“Hey, would you mind lending me a smoke?” I asked, my tone hopeful as I turned towards the guy, arms crossed tightly over one another in a self-serving hug. 

“Lend or give?” He gave the typical answer, though I was shocked to hear my guess that he was a UES was far off as the voice was deep with a strong English accent. It was a recognizable voice as I had been listening to it all night, cracking jokes and crooning rock songs.

“Give.” I was in a bit of shock but I still wanted my cigarette, “You’re Harry. I was just at your show.” I felt a little numb from the cold but mostly from how surreal it was as I recognized his profile. How the fuck had I missed it before? He turned to look at me with a curious and cautious look and I figured he was used to the people at his show freaking out at the sight of him but I had just looked at his face for over an hour and I was a little drunk so my reactions were all a bit delayed.

“Uhm, yes. I guess I am.” He shrugged, holding out the pack of cigarettes for me to take one which I did, quietly putting the toxic stick between my lips and motioning to his other hand which grasped a lighter. It took him a second but he eventually lit the cigarette for me and I tried not to cough like the true idiot I was, a girl who hated smoking but was freezing her ass off in a short dress. “You were at my show?” He cocked his head, the hood falling back to reveal a puff of chocolate hair. 

“Yeah, I was in the front actually. There were maybe six of us. I was with the girls who screamed over half of the set.” I laughed a little, knowing judging Amelia’s friends for being such super fans was wrong but it was still funny. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the album and the show but I knew nothing about Harry Styles other than he used to be in One Direction and now he wrote a banging rock album that Amelia had shown me.

“It’s the same at every show,” He shrugged his shoulders in a slow and purposeful way, sounding a little down. Suddenly, I wondered what he was doing all alone. “Did you like it? You haven’t mentioned if you did.” Beneath the nonchalance, I could hear the bit of hope, a need to please.

“Oh, I thought it was great but the screaming and all the people…well it’s not my kind of crowd. Concerts give me anxiety and I didn’t even think I was gonna make it until this morning.” 

“Well, I’m glad you had a good time.”

“Yeah…”

“Yeah. You didn’t mention you name either. Since you know mine.” He raised his brow expectantly, putting out his cigarette on the slushy sidewalk beneath us.

“I’m Nina.” Out of habit and politeness I stuck out my hand for a shake and watched embarrassed as he struggled to free his own hand from the pocket of his jacket to grasp mine. Still, he managed to do it and I took mental note of how soft his leather gloves felt in my hand. It was the least interesting thing about the encounter but for some reason it was stuck in my mind.

“Nice t’meet you, Nina.” He replied, saying my name slowly as if testing it out, “Do you wanna get out of this cold. I have a car right down there.” Harry motioned down the street and I turned my head, squinting in the darkness to see the outline of a black vehicle. Of course, he had a car waiting. Of course. 

“Uhm, yes please. My friends ditched me and I don’t have my bag or any cash.” Why was he offering a ride to a fan? Well, I wasn’t his biggest fan but definitely a fan of the album. He snickered at my answer, supposing the wording was a bit funny and I flushed, never one to be able to hide my embarrassment.

“C’mon. We’ll head back to my hotel and figure it out from there.” He motioned for me to follow and I quickly put out my cigarette, dropping it to the ground and stepping it out as I trailed behind him. We walked to the end of the block in silence and I had to wonder to myself why was I trusting him? He should be no different from any other stranger but in the back of the mind I thought knowing his music was the same of knowing him which was far from the truth. Maybe, I was just desperate because I had no money and no friends and no way to get home. Then again, maybe part of me just wanted to keep talking with him.

When we arrived at the car, he opened the door for me and I nodded in thanks before sliding into the seat, instantly greeted by the blasting heat from the vents. Harry slid into the seat next to me and I was completely aware of how close we were, nothing but a few inches of leather seats between us. I don’t know if his name and the fame were amplifying what I was feeling but the butterflies in the pit of my stomach were the same ones I got around any guy I was attracted to so I told myself the nerves were just an unfortunate side effect of his good looks. Harry mumbled a few words to the driver before settling in and we were off.

“So, you said you liked the show…can I ask what your favorite song was?” He angled his body to face me and had me locked what seemed like an overly intense gaze but I brushed it off as him being one those ‘eye contact is important’ type of people.

“Only Angel.” I answered without hesitation, a little embarrassed by how much I sounded like a fan. I was a fan of course; I just didn’t want to sound like one. “It’s just the kind of song where it’s easy to imagine yourself as the subject and get lost in it. It’s upbeat and a real confidence booster for the listener.” I continued, leaving out the part where I always danced to the song in my underwear. Harry nodded as I spoke, the tiniest of smiles appearing on his face and I thought, not even Harry Styles can be immune to the powers of a compliment. 

“That’s good to know. I like creating different personas for the songs. It makes for an interesting story, I suppose.”

“It does.”

We just sat in silence after that for a while, him looking comfortable and me inching against the door on my side, nervous that we’d accidentally touch legs or something equally ridiculous. We stayed like that for fifteen minutes and I looked out the window as the car came to a stop, realizing we were at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and why wouldn’t we be? It shouldn’t have been a shock that someone as famed as Harry would be staying somewhere as famed as the Waldorf but it was. Everything was surprising me that night.

“Right, then, we’re here.” He nodded, sliding out of the car and running around to my side to open mine before I even had a chance to collect my thoughts. I thanked him quietly and stepped out, back into the bitter cold. “We better get you inside before you freeze.” He added, starting to quickly usher me towards the hotel’s entrance. I’d never been inside before and was struck by the beauty of the lobby. The lamps radiated a warm light that instantly calmed me and the décor was the perfect mix between vintage and modern. I didn’t have time to keep gaping at the room because Harry was bee lining straight to the elevator and taking me along with him. I realized he might not want to be seen and sped up my own pace, joining his side as we waited for the lift to arrive.

It was then that I realized I was going up to Harry’s room and I had no idea why. We’d hardly spoken for more than a few minutes and I worried he’d made an assumption. 

“Uhm, Harry?” He turned towards me expectantly, “I really should be getting home…I can’t stay. I mean, we can’t--” I stopped abruptly, not wanting to make my own assumptions either.

“Oh!” Harry’s brows shot up quickly as he just stared at me in surprise. “That’s…uhm, that’s not why I invited you back here. You just looked cold. Okay, that sounded like a bad excuse but really, we can just hang out or you could call someone. If that doesn’t pan out you can stay here until the morning.” 

I didn’t even know how to get home. I could call my sister or my mom with his phone but both were fast asleep by then and wouldn’t answer an unknown number in the middle of the night. 

“I could stay here?” The relief was evident in my voice as the exhaustion was starting to kick in. My feet and back ached and my fingers felt like they might fall off from being in the cold that long. The elevator doors opened and we stepped him, Harry punching in the number to his floor. “I mean, I’m just really tired and I already know no one can come pick me up until morning. I can just sleep on the floor and be out of your way before you wake up.” I added and he looked at me funny at that with a little laugh through his nose.

“You think I’d let a lady sleep on the floor? No, take the bed and I’ll take the couch. It’s a suite so it won’t even be in your room and you won’t have to worry about me trying to get naughty.” His tone was so obviously teasing and I laughed, trying to shake of my embarrassment. There was no use being uncomfortable around him just because he was Harry Styles.

“I’m sorry about that I just thought since—” But he cut me off.

“Don’t worry about it. I invited you back to my hotel, Nina, what were you supposed to think? I should have been clear that I was just offering a place to warm up and use the phone and I guess now, rest your head.” He finished, fixing me with that oddly intense gaze again. Yep, definitely and eye contact kind of guy.

“Yeah, okay.” I smiled at him reassuringly as the doors opened once more and we arrived on his floor. I followed him down the hall and to his room where he fumbled around in his coat for the key, eventually managing to get the door open after trying the card a couple times. Once we got inside, I just stood in the living area with my arms at my sides as Harry went about, taking off his layers and shoes, revealing a sweater beneath his coat and zip up. 

“I’ll show you the room and get you something warm to change into.” He motioned for me to follow like it was the most normal thing in the world and he was always hosting girls in his suite. Well, he probably was. Part of me felt gross for it but the other part of me was going to collapse from fatigue. I trailed after him once more, my body feeling heavy with sleep. As I swayed on my feet, Harry disappeared behind the door of the closet for a split second and returned with a large fluffy sweater and some sweatpants, handing them over to me with a small smile. 

“Thank you for this. The show was great but I just want this day to end.” I sighed, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed, catching a glimpse of myself in the full length mirror, shocked by my appearance. My eye makeup was smudged and my previously curled blonde hair had gone flat.

“No worries. I’ll just be out there on the couch if you need anything.” He nodded in understanding, backing out of the room and shutting the door with care not to slam it. Finally, I was alone again and could breath. I struggled to yank off my boots and tights, all the while my mind racing and wondering why he was letting me stay with him. I was just some random fan who could’ve easily been crazed enough to tell the world on social media or steal his stuff. I wasn’t, of course, but how would he know the difference? When I managed to get stripped down, I grabbed the clothes that Harry had left for me, pulling them on and engulfing myself in his scent. It was that fresh ‘boy’ scent that smelled like clean cologne and a little arrogance. The clothing was undoubtedly overpriced and designer but it was comfy and I fell into the bed, too tired to even get under the covers. The second my head hit the pillow I was asleep and dreaming of the intense quietness of a boy with green eyes and too much talent.


End file.
